


Let Go Of The Empty Dreams

by geek1o1



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Clones, Future Fic, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Non-Graphic Violence, OT9 (EXO), X-EXO Clone Byun Baekhyun, X-EXO Clones (EXO), no mention of blood or gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28105470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geek1o1/pseuds/geek1o1
Summary: It’s a never-ending battle between the clones and the originals. In the middle of that, Baekhyun and Baëkhyun get stuck together in a broken ship in the middle of nowhere.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Oh Sehun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25
Collections: EXODEUX Round 1





	Let Go Of The Empty Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Main Pairing: Baekhyun and X-EXO Baekhyun (not romantic)  
> Prompt: Baekhyun and X-EXO's Baekhyun somehow get stranded together. X-EXO's Baekhyun initially tries to kill Baekhyun, before he is incapacitated. Baekhyun drags his incapacitated clone along with him as he tries to get back to EXO. They bicker and fight the whole way.  
> Rating: Any/Up to Writer  
> Side Pairing: Baekhyun/Sehun  
> Trigger Warnings: N/A  
> Yes To: Baekhyun and Sehun are a couple. X-EXO's Baekhyun thinks Baekhyun is boring and repressed compared to himself and makes snide comments about how boring Sebaek's sex life must be and offers to help spice it up. X-EXO's Baekhyun is totally into self-cest. Baekhyun is disgusted. Basically, X-EXO's Baekhyun is a lewd pain in the ass.  
> No To: No actual self-cest. No character death, gore, suicide, self-harm.

  
  
  
  


*****

  
  


Baekhyun groaned loudly when his back got slammed into the concrete wall, pain shooting throughout his whole body. His face scrunched up in discomfort, regretting when he tried to immediately go back fighting. The leather outfit was sticking to his skin because of sweat. He let go of the saber he was holding with his right hand and clutched his left arm. The whole of his left arm was numb at this point. He tried clenching his left fist, whining when he felt too weak to clench his fist properly. He closed his eyes for a second, tilting his head back. He didn't want to fight anymore. He just wanted to go home, maybe even stay at work and enjoy some time with his teammates.

  


_ Teammates.  _

  


He snapped his eyes open and searched around the area. He could see his teammates fighting with their clones. Groans and moans of pain were resonating throughout the whole place. The shitty lighting was making it hard to see around properly but he could make out silhouettes. The only two people who were properly visible were Chanyeol and his clone because of the fire. He seemed badly beaten up but his clone was even worse. He could use his powers to see but that would give away his teammates’ locations, which would be dangerous. The clones were just as strong as them, if not stronger. They didn't believe their commander when he ordered them to be cautious around their clones. But now he regrets underestimating them. 

Everyone else was scattered around. He couldn't find his clone that he had been fighting with only a few moments ago. He couldn't make out who was fighting who.

Discarding his previous thoughts on going home, mainly because there was no home for him anymore, he stopped leaning against the wall and straightened up. Picking up his saber from the ground, he started walking towards the spaceship they came here with. The spaceship’s main datalog had the red cube’s whereabouts. They were ambushed by their clones and he was going to have a few words with their supplier, probably his head as well.

  


The walk to the spaceship was quite uneventful which only fueled his anxiety. He had just walked straight towards the spaceship they were fighting over and no one came to stop him. He was in the middle of a battlefield and he wasn't attacked by anyone for more than a few minutes. He could feel it in his guts that maybe something was wrong. His teammates sometimes would laugh at how he relied on his gut instincts so much. It may be the year 3411 with much more reliable gadgets to put your trust in, but the gut feeling never lies.

His gut feelings  _ didn't _ lie when he saw that the spaceship door was open. Baekhyun loved being right in normal scenarios. But this time it made his fingertips cold. Fighting over how the door is never properly locked was something he fought over with Sehun all the time, and today was no different.

He pushed the already opened door wider. The hallway's lights were almost blinding. 

  


His breath hitched as he realized someone had gotten in. He stood still on his spot, racking through his brain to count how many silhouettes he saw outside.

  


16.

  


Which meant only one person got in the spaceship.

  


Still, on the edge, Baekhyun tightly grasped his saber and started walking towards the bridge of the ship.

It didn't matter who got in, whether it was the clones or his teammates. He knew where he could find the intruder. If their clones were also taught what he and his teammates were taught then they would go secure the bridge first, not stand by the door and fight.

  


As he walked through the hallway leading towards the bridge, the hair on his neck rose. There was something oddly creepy about the ship he spends more time on than his own home. Small but hasty steps accompanied him as he tried to be as silent as possible.

A loud blast from outside startled him, making him drop his saber. He sighed out a breath of relief, the loud boom should have concealed the sound of his saber dropping. The tiny clicking sound that  _ could _ have been heard wouldn't be enough for anyone else to hear.

Baekhyun smirked to himself. He was proud of being the only one who was good at stealth to hear almost unnoticeable sounds.

He crouched down to pick up his Sabre. But once he stood up straight again, he felt the shard edge of a knife in his lower back.

  


He  _ and _ his clone, probably.

  


"Feel like smirking again?" The whisper came from behind him.

  


"Actually yeah," Baekhyun said while increasing the light's intensity above their head. He yelled as he turned around, trying to attack the  _ person _ behind him. Although Baekhyun hardly considered his clone a  _ person, _ merely a copy of himself. He was only met with the sound of his saber scratching against the walls.

He decreased the intensity of the light and looked around.

He found himself alone in the hallway.

  


While cursing, he turned around and ran full speed towards the main deck.

  


It felt like a cat and mouse chase as Baekhyun followed his clone to the bridge. He knew the spaceship's interior like the back of his hands but it seemed like Baëkhyun didn't know any less.

Baëkhyun reached the bridge first, not forgetting to close the door behind him. Baekhyun let out a frustrated sigh. He tried putting in the passcode on the lock beside the door. The door opened slightly, about a few inches before getting stuck there.

Baekhyun slammed his fists on the door for a while.

"Look, I know you guys were trained to hate us. But you have no idea what the red force cube can do!" Baekhyun screamed helplessly.

There were a few seconds of silence before Baëkhyun hissed out, "I don't know?"

He slammed the door open, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Baëkhyun's voice deepened with anger.

He took Baekhyun by his collar and threw him inside the bridge. Baekhyun's back slammed into the captain's chair before dropping on the floor.

Baekhyun looked up from the floor to Baëkhyun, finding the latter almost fully unscratched other than a few scratches on the face. As if Baekhyun did little to no damage to him while fighting. Baekhyun lowered his eyes in shame, he did little to no damage to his clone while he was beaten to a pulp.

Baëkhyun sneered at Baekhyun, "Look at me you little shit!" Baekhyun rolled onto his back, lazily making eye contact with Baëkhyun. He couldn't care about Baëkhyun's anger, his shame clouding his mind

Baëkhyun scoffed, " _ You're _ telling  _ me  _ I don't know what my birthplace can do?"

Baëkhyun's piercing cold eyes made Baekhyun's skin crawl. They had the same eyes yet it felt so different. Baekhyun was used to looking at himself in the mirror yet it was  _ so  _ different.

The eyes felt soulless, somewhat inhuman.

Baekhyun got up, getting ready to fight. He was supposed to be a brave soldier who would fight till death to save his universe. Baëkhyun snickered, finding it amusing how stubborn the  _ original _ was.

"I can't let you take the red cube!" Baekhyun said under his breath, "No matter what!"

Baëkhyun's expression stayed indifferent as he got ready to pounce at the little human being.

  


The fight they had inside the bridge was similar to the fight they had outside. Although Baekhyun tried his best to injure Baëkhyun in some way, Baëkhyun kept dodging his attacks.

"Why do you keep trying  _ Baekhyunnie? _ " Baëkhyun mocked him, jumping away from another batch of his punches.

"Because it's my duty!" Baekhyun yelled in a patriotic manner, still screaming and punching thin air, hoping to cause some sort of damage.

"Oh but  _ Baekhyunnie!  _ I'm your clone!" Baëkhyun said in a fake cheerful manner, grasping Baekhyun's leg that was about to kick him and pulled. Baekhyun fell on the floor as Baëkhyun smirked, "I know everything you want to do  _ before _ you know you want to do them."

Baekhyun screamed as Baëkhyun kicked him in the guts.

Still smirking, Baëkhyun looked towards the captain's chair and pointed at it.

"This chair-" He stepped forward and gripped its headrest, "This chair should be your end goal." He shook his head, “But what are you doing?” He let out a mocking laugh as he spoke in a low tone, “If I recall correctly, the only thing you’re good at is following orders of others like a small worthless minion you are.”

  


Baekhyun laid both of his palms flat against the floor and tried getting up.

Baëkhyun tsked. He stepped forward and put a foot down on Baekhyun's back to push him down.

"Stay down puppy!" Baëkhyun said in a mocking tone, "Let the  _ real humans _ handle the situation, okay?"

  


Baekhyun spits on the floor, face scrunching up in pain and anger.

"If you don't fucking LISTEN-" Baekhyun shoved the foot on his back. Baëkhyun lost his balance and fell while Baekhyun hastily got up and ran towards the controls.

"Oh no, you fucking don't." Baëkhyun took a hold of both of their Sabre and marched towards the control as well.

  


Baekhyun yelled while moving away when Baëkhyun almost stabbed his back.

"Just fucking  _ listen _ -" Baekhyun tried again but Baëkhyun kept trying to stab him.

  


"Taking off in T-minus 10."

  


Both of them looked towards the speaker attached to the captain's chair.

  


"9"

  


"The fuck did you do?" Baëkhyun screamed while pointing at one of the sabers at Baekhyun.

  


"8"

  


"I haven't done anything, it's autopilot!" Baekhyun pulled his hair, "I've been trying to stop it!"

  


"7"

  


"And you want me to believe your pathetic lie?" Baëkhyun made a sour face. He turned towards the control panel.

  


"6"

  


He groaned while punching every button he could find.

  


"5"

  


Baekhyun collapsed on the side of the room, seemingly giving up. His legs became numb as well.

  


"4"

  


"The fuck! Fucking stop it bitch!" Baëkhyun started to smash the whole surface.

  


"3"

  


Baekhyun looked up at Baëkhyun who was having a mental breakdown. "You could've gotten out of the ship."

  


"2"

  


Baëkhyun looked down at him, literally and figuratively. The disgusting face he made it seem like getting off the ship would have destroyed the purpose of his life.

  


Maybe it would have.

  


"1" 

  


Baëkhyun smiles at him for the first time, a forced smile but a smile nonetheless.

  


"That would mean giving up."

  
  
  
  


*****

  
  
  
  


When Baëkhyun opened his eyes, he couldn't figure out where he was. Everything around him had some sort of red and blue outlines. He groaned while sitting up. His head was pounding and there was a ringing in his ears. He tried remembering what happened but he couldn't concentrate. Thinking probably training with Kyungsòó went south again. Although the unfamiliar cold room was nothing like the usual practice room which would always be on fire.

  


Standing up was harder than Baëkhyun thought it would've been. His legs wobbled a few times and he had to lean on the wall behind him to stand properly. The whole room spun a couple of times. Baëkhyun furrowed his eyebrows. The room looked nothing like their usual training ground.

Memories came flooding back as Baëkhyun looked around to find any sort of weapon to defend himself. His Sabre was gone along with the one he took forcefully from the  _ original. _

The control panel was slightly beaten up because of him but it looked like it was functioning. He got closer to it with hesitant and slow steps. All the windows were covered. He looked back down at all the switches and buttons.

Baëkhyun knew he fucked up when he impulsively pressed a few buttons and one of them uncovered the windows extremely loudly.

But Baëkhyun couldn't get himself to care about the consequences of him getting caught in an unknown ship. Partially because he knew he could defend himself and probably beat the shit outta his original. And also because the moment the windows uncovered, a vast sea of black filled his vision.

The spaceship was well, in deep space right now and he didn’t know where it was, where it was heading towards.

Baëkhyun screamed a few profanities at the  _ original.  _ He looked back and saw the captain's chair. He sprinted towards it. The chair had two handles at the side, unattached, staying afloat due to a magnetic field. He felt around the handles for some sort of switch. When he couldn't find any, he took a few steps back and started kicking the chair. The chair eventually fell off the circle pad it was hovering over and fell apart. Picking up both of the handles, he marched outside of the bridge.

  


The rest of the spaceship was pitch black, Baëkhyun realized. He tutted while shaking his head. How naive of the  _ original,  _ to think he couldn't just use his powers. Baëkhyun started walking forward, each step he took caused the lights above his head shine so intensely that some of them burst.

  


Baëkhyun found  _ him _ in a makeshift cafeteria. He was sitting on a chair in the corner, munching on a sandwich calmly. It infuriated Baëkhyun even more. How fucking dare he think he can take Baëkhyun back to his base.

Baëkhyun marched towards the  _ original _ , the two sharp chair handles tightly grasped by both of his hands. He looked like a mad man, in a way he was. He would rather die than be taken as a prisoner.

  


"Want a bite?" Baekhyun asked casually, lifting both of his legs on the table and crossing them. He didn't look bothered at all that his clone is about to attack him. Baëkhyun came to an abrupt stop, standing in the middle of the room looking severely out of place.

Taking another bite off of his sandwich, he offered the rest to Baëkhyun, "It's PB and J."

"Is this a joke to you?" Baëkhyun asked, giving Baekhyun a perplexed look. "Let me prove it to you that I  _ shouldn't  _ be taken lightly," Baëkhyun smirked, Stepping forward.

"No just, I haven't eaten anything in a while, probably you haven't either," Baekhyun said while putting the half-eaten sandwich on a plate and pushing to the other side of the table. "Don't worry about me trying to poison you-" Baekhyun let out a chuckle as if he delivered a funny punchline, "Because I just took a bite from it in front of you!"

Baëkhyun frowned, "Where are you taking me?"

"Nowhere!" Baekhyun raised his hands in defense, "It was supposed to be on autopilot mode." He sighed, taking back the sandwich and taking another bite. "When you smashed the controls in anger, you destroyed a few things. The radar is broken so the ship itself doesn't know where it's going" He paused for a second to ponder, "I think." He took another bite, groaning at the wonderful taste, "This is  _ so  _ good! Wanna try?" Baekhyun asked again only to find Baëkhyun staring back at him with a poker face.

"Okay! Continuing, I don't know how to fly a spaceship manually, especially without a radar." Baekhyun said with a troubled expression, "I can't contact my teammates. Probably because we're too far away."

"And you want  _ me _ to  _ believe  _ that shit load of crap?" Baëkhyun laughed, wheezing for air after a few seconds. "You're funny, gotta give you that!"

"Why won't you trust me?" Baekhyun slammed his fists on the table, "We're in deep space, don't know where the ship is heading towards all because _ you  _ decided to trash the switches!"

"Now you're showing your true color Baekhyunnie~" Baëkhyun purred out, getting in a position to attack.

Baekhyun let out a deep breath, "Try to contact your teammates, please."

"Why? So you can capture them as well?" Baëkhyun mused. How naive did the little human think he was?

"No, because being beaten to death by my friends' clones sounds better than running out of resources before landing somewhere _. Anywhere. _ " Baekhyun waited a second before whispering, " _ If  _ we don't get boarded by rogue pirates that is"

Baëkhyun tutted, “I would rather spend the last of my days with rogue space pirates than give up my team’s location.”

Baekhyun shrugged while mumbling, “Suit yourself.” He got up and started walking towards the bridge. He was expecting to be pounced at but surprisingly, Baëkhyun silently followed.

Baekhyun kept turning off the lights in the hallway, only giving a half-assed explanation of "Wasting resources". Baëkhyun snorted, knowing it was bullshit. But he decided to entertain the little human being, letting him keep thinking Baëkhyun could be fooled. To Baëkhyun, it was like playing with food.

Baekhyun stared at the fallen captain's chair lying pitifully on the floor for a solid minute.

"So…" Baëkhyun tried to rush him, getting more impatient to just do the job and kill him.

"Yeah so!" Baekhyun clapped his hands and went up to the control panel. "There are few things this ship can't do anymore. I already talked about the thrashed radar." Baekhyun scrunched up his face, "But what's worrying me the most is that this ship currently can’t jump through hyperspace or create protective-shield."

Baëkhyun made a small noise to acknowledge what Baekhyun was talking about. He went up to Baekhyun and stood by him. Glancing at the control panel, he couldn't figure out what most of the buttons and switches did. But even a toddler nowadays could recognize three switches; the switches for starting the main engine, jumping into hyperspace, and creating a protective shield.

Baëkhyun sighed once, realizing that Baekhyun hadn't been lying to him. He put down the handles he was holding onto on the floor and calmly stood beside Baekhyun.

"So what do we do?" Baekhyun asked, not expecting any response in return. He knew Baëkhyun didn't have the answer to the question. He didn't know what to do in this kind of situation.

Both of them stared at the vast sea of blackness through the windows, lost in their thoughts, admiring blinking lights of stars far far away from them. 

  
  
  
  


*****

  
  
  
  
  


Baëkhyun and Baekhyun were sitting at the opposite side of the room. The floor was cold and both of them shivering but at that moment, comfort wasn't at the top of their priority list. The view outside of the main bridge was taunting them, reminding them of the inevitable like a timer. 

Like a ticking clock. 

They either needed to come up with a solid plan to get somewhere safe or they'd be dead in a few weeks while floating around in deep space.

  


Baëkhyun huffed. “Can you like,” Baëkhyun closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall behind him, “Just give the coordinates to me and we’ll be done here?”

Baekhyun gave a false smile. “I can’t because only the captains can access the codes and,” Baekhyun had a controlled, tight tone as he spoke, “The only way you would get the codes out of me would be over my dead body.”

Baëkhyun was sweating as he clenched his jaws. "Well I could just kill you then,” His speech was a bit slurred, “I'd be saving myself a lot of trouble." He pointed at Baekhyun, "Since you don’t have the codes, you're just wasting my oxygen."

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at Baëkhyun.

"Oh really?" He asked while chuckling, "Then why don't  _ I _ kill  _ you? _ "

Baëkhyun sneered, "You think you're capable enough to kill me?"

A short laugh escaped from Baëkhyun. His speech was a little sluggish but his tone was hard, "Don't make me laugh!"

"Laugh as much as you can" being provoked, Baekhyun got up from his previous sitting position on the floor, "Because you'd miss it once you're dead."

Baëkhyun shook his head, dusting off imaginary dust from his pants as he was getting ready to get up, "Wow you're like really bad at intimidating others." He cocked his head to the side, "You're just all bark and no  _ bite. _ "

Baekhyun was about to charge at Baëkhyun but he noticed how Baëkhyun's body swayed side to side as he stood up, closing his eyes to probably stop feeling dizzy. Blame it on Baekhyun's years of training to help humanoids, cyborgs, or even strange foreign aliens from any sort of threat but he felt concerned for Baëkhyun at that moment.

"Hey," Baekhyun softly coaxed H to look at him properly, "You don't seem to be doing so well."

"Shut up!" Baëkhyun exclaimed in fury while staring right at Baekhyun. He clenched his fists to try his best to march at Baekhyun. But he kept on losing his footing, tripping over himself again and again.

Baekhyun walked forward and put a hand on Baëkhyun's shoulder, putting force to make him kneel on to the floor before pushing him to sit down properly.

"It's been a while since you ate or drank anything." Baekhyun spoke in a hushed tone to not provoke Baëkhyun, "You lost so much energy fighting as well."

"Don't you fucking dare pity me, you scumbag!" Baëkhyun's voice was filled with venom, "I'd rather die than get help from you."

Baekhyun stared at his eyes that were filled with hatred. He shook his head, his team were fighting to protect the tree of life, to keep the red force cube safe. So it should be his eyes filled with hatred and disgust while staring at Baëkhyun, a clone _, his clone_ , who's working to disrupt the balance of life. Baëkhyun's team was the one who was destroying the peaceful space society living beings created, so they should be facing hatred.

"Get up." Baekhyun commanded blankly while straightening his own back as well, "We're getting some proper food and water in your stomach." Before Baëkhyun could retort back Baekhyun kept talking while pulling on Baëkhyun's leather jacket, resulting in dragging his clone along. "You may not be my prisoner right now," Baekhyun looked at Baëkhyun in his eyes, "But as soon as we land safely, you're getting arrested. So I'm just helping you get used to the kind of treatment you'll be getting."

Baëkhyun scoffed. "You think your fellow  _ human beings  _ would let me eat and rest?" He asked in a mocking tone, his pearly teeth visible. "So arrogant," He tutted. He shook his head, "So  _ so  _ arrogant  _ human beings. _ "

He shoved Baekhyun's hand away from his shoulder. Baekhyun tsked, not pleased with his behavior. Baekhyun shook his head, "You'll be a prisoner of war, but-" Baëkhyun cut him off, already done talking about becoming a prisoner.

"Shut up!" He yelled back. Baekhyun was talking as if it was a matter of  _ when  _ not  _ if.  _

The response irritated Baekhyun. No matter how he treated Baëkhyun, he got treated poorly in return. He was a criminal and maybe Baekhyun just should've treated him like that from the beginning. He was getting worked up by thinking about Baëkhyun's behavior. "You're a  _ clone  _ of me, a human being as well!" Baekhyun smirked as if he won the argument but Baëkhyun chuckled humorlessly.

"But I'll always be  _ just a clone, _ " Baëkhyun gave a tight-lipped smile, "I'll  _ never _ be considered a full human being and I'll forever be thankful for that."

Baekhyun didn't get why he was behaving like that, but he decided to let him be.

"Okay enough with the chit chat," Baekhyun gave a dismissive wave of his hand, "Let's get you to eat something, I wouldn't like getting shit from my commander if I let you die."

Baëkhyun went lax, he let himself get dragged to a chair. He didn't put up a fight when an energy bar was offered to him along with some hydrates. He shrugged and ate it. It'd be a shame if he didn't get to kill the  _ original  _ before dying so eating was a necessity.

"Look-" Baekhyun tried to convince him, "If you turn yourself in then the government will become less harsh while deciding the punishment." Baekhyun's voice rose a few octaves as he got worked up again, "What X-Exo-you and your teammates are doing isn't right!"

"Who are you to decide what's  _ right _ ?" Baëkhyun threw the empty packet behind his back, "And what makes you think I'd remain a prisoner if I'm caught?"

Baekhyun made a face of confusion, "Death sentences are illegal. So of course you'll become a prisoner."

Baëkhyun shook his head, he shrugged and closed his eyes. He felt so tired that he didn't have any strength in him to keep arguing. But Baekhyun had a different idea. 

"Answer me!" Baekhyun shook his shoulders, "You have that little faith in our system?"

He just nodded hoping Baekhyun would shut up. Momentarily a thought crossed his mind if he was poisoned or given sleeping medicine. He couldn't believe he ate the food given to him by an enemy. He could die but he couldn’t ponder about it for much longer because of Baekhyun's constant questions. 

"You fucking stupid idiot!” Baëkhyun yelled out while rubbing his head, “I’ll be taken and be  _ experimented on!” _ He could really use a nap right now. He didn't wait for Baekhyun's reply. He just closed his eyes and went to dreamland without a single care in the world. 

  
  
  
  


******

  
  
  
  


Baëkhyun woke up with a pounding headache. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his head. While looking around, Baëkhyun came to conclusion and Baekhyun wasn’t that happy with how their previous conversation ended because Baekhyun let him sleep on the cold floor of the cafeteria. Sneezing once, twice, Baëkhyun decided to leave the cafeteria. They were stuck in the same spaceship, his human and him, in the middle of nowhere. The outcome of this situation, no matter how optimistic he tried to be, always came out bad. Baëkhyun sighed, somewhat accepting his fate. Of course, his chances of being able to go back to his team was little to nothing. He has probably already been replaced by now. And, if they do get rescued it would probably be humans with no empathy for  _ clones.  _

Walking mindlessly while being deep in his thoughts, Baëkhyun found himself on the deck. There was a screen on the corner blinking yellow light, displaying a message of emergency. Baëkhyun walked closer to find out what it said. He had a bit of difficulty reading the message as the screen had several cracks on top of it. He cursed himself for thrashing the deck when it started taking off. He sighed out once again in defeat when he was finally able to read what it said.

“Resources are reducing fast. Please refuel.” 

Baëkhyun smiled sarcastically, of course, the ship would be preserving heat in the personal rooms and the deck. Only one of the personal rooms was going to be occupied by the human, the rest 8 of those were going to be unoccupied. Sneezing again a couple of times, Baëkhyun made his way towards the room furthest away from the deck.

He lost, Baëkhyun realized, he lost against the human even though the human hadn’t won either. He lost.

The door opened with a low hiss and Baëkhyun entered the room with disgust written all over his face. The room didn’t seem to belong to a warrior, a fighter, or even a soldier. The room rather seemed like it belonged to a toddler, in his opinion.  _ Not that he knows what toddlers are like. _ It was filled with soft toys, flowery aroma, posters of bands and movies decorating the walls, and polaroids all over the place. Baëkhyun became curious as he picked up one polaroid from the ground, he wasn’t aware polaroids were still a thing in the year 3411. He only ever saw a polaroid in a museum his team attacked before.

The polaroid was a picture of his  _ human  _ and the guy who looked like Sehun. He guessed it was the human version of his colleague. The picture didn’t seem like two colleagues would take with each other. They were hugging each other closely, almost as if they were cuddling together. Feeling intrigued, Baëkhyun picked up another Polaroid only to throw it back down on the floor as if it had burned him. In a sense it did, it burned his brain, he thought.

The polaroid was of the  _ human  _ and his colleague’s human doing intimate things. It wasn’t like he was innocent, but there’s something about technically seeing yourself and your colleague together that had ticked him off.

Sighing, Baëkhyun moved further inside the room for more information. It was obvious that those two were invested in each other and he would like to know more sensitive information just in case he could use it in the future.

While trying to not step on anything scattered around the floor, Baëkhyun was waddling around the room, opening different drawers and shelves. The skintight leather that usually was a blessing to fight in, now just kept making his sensitive skin burn. Irritated, he noticed that he was probably wearing the leather outfit for more than 3 days or so. He doesn’t know how much time he had spent unconscious both times he passed out. With the new intention of searching for clothes, Baëkhyun started to open the drawers he previously opened to recheck for any piece of clothing. 

Baëkhyun groaned in satisfaction when he finally found the drawers the human kept his clothes in. Snatching the first few items he saw, which was a cashmere sweater, cargo pants, and wool socks, he quickly undressed to fit into those. It felt odd, wearing someone else’s clothes. The sweater was a bit snug on the shoulder but loose everywhere else. It felt as if he was drowning in them. Delighted with the fact that his skin wasn’t feeling like it was burning anymore, Baëkhyun resumed his search for any weaknesses the humans may have.

  
  
  


Baëkhyun finally decided to get out of the room after probably spending hours inside. Keeping track of time in a spaceship in the middle of nowhere was hard but he didn’t care. He was smiling cheekily as he made his way around the ship to find his  _ human.  _ The spaceship looked too specious when he wasn’t actively hiding, fighting, or searching for something with his full concentration. He wondered for a while if fighting with the  _ original  _ would be worth it. But that didn’t really matter if it was worth something. He was brought up, trained since he was a kid to hate the heroes, to fight the heroes, and if they ever got the chance, to kill the heroes. Baëkhyun hadn’t realized he got lost in his thoughts, asking the same question to himself again and again.

  


“Is it worth it?”

  
  


Baëkhyun heard Baekhyun before he saw Baekhyun. The tapping of hills on the steel floor was enough to alert him. But even before he could react, he got punched. The punch between his chest and stomach hurt like a bitch. His shoulder hunched forward as he coughed while falling on the floor. Dick move, Baëkhyun thought to himself, smart move to hit the diaphragm but still a dick move. Rendered weak for more than a minute or so, Baëkhyun could do nothing but receive harsh kicks from Baekhyun again and again.

After more than five minutes of harsh kicking and hair pulling, Baekhyun thought Baëkhyun was done for good. But right then Baëkhyun grabbed his leg and pulled. Baekhyun wasn’t expecting Baëkhyun to even be able to move after his surprise attack. Baekhyun’s body crashed on the floor loudly. Baëkhyun crawled on top of Baekhyun. He put his knees exactly on top of Baekhyun’s kidneys. Baekhyun groaned. Trying to shove Baëkhyun away didn’t work. Baëkhyun kept increasing the pressure. Baëkhyun put his sole focus on Baekhyun’s face. 

They hadn’t been fighting for long but both of them were drenched in sweat. Their moves were becoming clumsier as their determination grew higher. Baëkhyun crouched down, face scrunching up in pain. He might’ve underestimated his  _ human.  _ It seemed that Baekhyun wasn’t may not have been able to keep up with him before, but recharging had definitely helped. Now they were back to being equals, being the  _ same  _ person.

There was a slight cut on his right bicep and as Baëkhyun cupped his cut, he felt his skin rather than the sweater. Looking down, he saw that Baekhyun’s saber cut through the sweater, making the sleeve pool on top of his wrist. It seemed that Baekhyunhad only now seen what he was wearing. Glancing at Baekhyun with a smirk, Baëkhyun sneered at him, “Sorry, did it belong to your boyfriend?”

It seemed as if Baekhyun wasn’t prepared for that as he almost dropped the saber he was holding. Baekhyun took a few deep breaths while trying to tighten his grip on the saber. He hadn't realized he gripped it until his knuckles turned white and placed it in front of him. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Baekhyun gave a tight-lipped smile, “Dating is banned for soldiers.”

“Uh, yes,” Baëkhyun nodded in understanding while sitting up properly, “Emotional attachments can be bitch.” Rolling his head around once, Baëkhyun stretched his hands and legs after standing up. “Is that why you’re hiding it?” Baëkhyun mocked. Baekhyun’s eyes widened in shock and fear, not prepared for the conversation at all.

“SHUT UP!” Baekhyun shouted on top of his lungs while marching towards Baëkhyun. Baëkhyun swiftly moved away from Baekhyun’s clumsy attack while chuckling.

“Was it you who suggested it? About hiding it?” Baëkhyun pouted while playing with the strings coming out of the cut part of the sleeve, “Do you still remember his crestfallen expression Baekhyun?”

“No!” Baekhyun whisper shouted while loosening his grip on his saber, “Whatever I was doing, I was doing it for us.”

Baëkhyun casually walked towards where Baekhyun was standing while he kept talking.

“Do you  _ really  _ believe that?” Baëkhyun raised his brows, “Or were you just being difficult?” Baekhyun was shaking his head, opening his mouth to retort but Baëkhyun didn’t let him. “You know what I think,  _ human? _ ” Baëkhyun put his hand on his chin as if he was contemplating whether or not he should say it to Baekhyun. But both of them knew it was just an act, Baëkhyun was going to say it regardless and try to hurt Baekhyun, it was his life’s purpose, never-ending to begin with. “I think you’re just insecure about yourself, that you won’t be enough,” Baëkhyun nodded to himself, “That you’re not enough for  _ Sehunnie _ .”

Baëkhyun leaned in Baekhyun’s personal space, whispering into Baekhyun’s ears,  _ “Maybe I should just replace you.” _

  
  
  


Baekhyun’s reaction wasn’t something Baëkhyun had anticipated. Baëkhyun thought that he would either cry and have a mental breakdown or fight back with even more force. Baekhyun simply went lax and looked at Baëkhyun. But it felt like Baekhyun was looking beyond him as if he was lost in his thoughts. “Cat got your tongue?” Baëkhyun tried riling up Baekhyun again, “Are you agreeing with me?” Baekhyun stared right into Baëkhyun’s eyes without blinking at all.

  


“You guys already infiltrated the military,” Baekhyun asked, “Didn’t you?”

  


Baëkhyun’s blood boiled at the accusation and he jumped away from Baekhyun. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Baëkhyun crossed his arms in front of him with a cold expression, “What do you mean by infiltrating?”

“You replaced soldiers with clones,” Baekhyun got up from his previous sitting position on the floor and stalked up to Baëkhyun, “Various ranks and kind, you guys have been replacing us.”

Baëkhyun scoffed before smirking. “Well mister ‘I’m having an epiphany’,” Baëkhyun pointed at himself and then pointed at Baekhyun, “Have I replaced you yet?”

Bakehyun hadn’t answered and Baëkhyun took it as a cue to keep talking. “Obviously, I’m better at fighting than you are,” Baëkhyun rolled his eyes, “So I could’ve easily replaced you.” Baëkhyun paused for a second before continuing, “But I didn’t.”

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows, “But you  _ were  _ talking about replacing me.”

“Look  _ human _ ,” feeling irritated, Baëkhyun sighed, “The red cube doesn’t need to infiltrate, many ranked officers already work on our side.”

“You really want me to believe that?” Baekhyun sneered, “No prestigious ranked officers would work for the red cube.” Baekhyun pointed a finger at Baëkhyun accusingly, “Not when they have common sense.”

Baëkhyun smiled sarcastically, “Not with this stupid as shit conversation again.” Baëkhyun smacked Baekhyun’s finger down, “Honestly  _ fuck you _ .”

“Wow real mature,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes while crossing his hands in front of him again.

“No,” Baëkhyun spit out, “If you’re going to believe some text-book shit the emperor spewed out then fucking go ahead.” Baëkhyun started stomping away, “I  _ won’t  _ sit here and hear you speak bullshit about my birthplace.”

“The ship is low on resources already. I’m staying in one of the personal rooms,” Baëkhyun pointed a finger at Baekhyun with a cold smile, “Have fun spending your last days in your shared childish room.” 

And with that, their conversation ended. Although Baekhyun mostly felt as if he was wronged, he also felt misunderstood. Why wouldn’t Baëkhyun just listen to him ever? But Baekhyun felt like maybe there was some truth in Baëkhyun’s words, some genuine anger and disbelief in his expression. Baekhyun stood there alone on the deck while staring at Baëkhyun who was standing previously. Baekhyun shook his head vigorously, not wanting to believe Baëkhyun at all. But a small, a very  _ very  _ small part had already started doubting what he used to believe in.

  
  
  


******

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun stared at the nothingness in front of him. The pitch-black space with a few twinkling stars from far far away was the only scenery he had the option to see. The space was  _ so _ empty yet  _ filled _ with memories. Baekhyun recalled that during his first year in training, they were taught to never stare into space if they ever got lost in it. Baekhyun chuckled remembering that he was shitting on the trainer for stating such an obvious fact. But now, he smiled sadly, now he understood how tempting space is. It was almost as if space was calling Baekhyun, telling him to jump into it and get lost even further. To lose his mind and body completely and surrender himself to space.

Tilting his head back, Baekhyun recalled that during his first year in training he had met Sehun. Oh how much he'd give up to be with Sehun right now. 

It was almost as if Baekhyun could still hear Sehun's laughter, Sehun snoring right beside him, Sehun giggling while pranking on others.

Baekhyun didn’t have the guts to go back to their shared room on the ship. He knew that he’d regret it if he didn’t spend the last of his days in that room, the room they filled with nothing but love and happiness. But, no matter what, he couldn’t muster up the courage to go there.

Baekhyun was the one who wanted to hide their relationships to not get looked down upon by their superiors, so they still could be promoted without being called derogatory names, so they could have a peaceful environment at work. Despite wanting all of that, he knew he longed for domestic bliss with his partner. Sehun wanted a peaceful life too, but not if it meant not being able to love Baekhyun openly. Sehun still had agreed to his wish to make sure he felt comfortable. 

Baekhyun rubbed his face harshly as he suddenly felt the urge to punch himself. Why was he so foolish? He could’ve had a great life with moderate amounts of problems but he settled for a good life. He wished he didn’t. Maybe then he’d be there with Sehun, not stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

Baekhyun sniffed, his nose filled due to the room gradually getting colder. He patted his pockets until he found what he was looking for, the last gift Sehun had given him. It was a small device, something Sehun had inherited from his great great grandfather. Baekhyun rubbed the glassy surface, smiling sadly as he still couldn't understand the symbols used in it.

Sehun had told him these writings used to be called "numbers", similarly to what they have but ancient. The device was meant for calculating time. Baekhyun remembered laughing at the silly device that "calculated time". But now, Baekhyun wished he thanked Sehun more for sharing such a beautiful artifact with him. 

Baekhyun wished he could ask Sehun for some advice. Sehun would have helped him understand the situation better, crack a few jokes to elicit a laugh out of him. He didn’t know what to believe in anymore. But he could trust Sehun with his own life on the line.

Baekhyun always believed that he was fighting for the right side, the right cause, as a hero. But if there’s even an ounce of truth in Baëkhyun’s words, then Baekhyun’s whole life would crumble down. Everything would turn out to be nothing but a lie. That couldn’t be, right? Baekhyun nodded to himself, agreeing to himself. There’s no way anything that  _ clone  _ would say would be true. Those filthy clones cause nothing but despair to society. There’s no way the clones’ side would be the right side in this never-ending war.

Baekhyun sighed once more while leaning back on the wall behind him and closed his eyes. He gripped the ancient watch in his hands harder. He understood that there was no point in being childish, blind, or denying blatant truth. There has never been a side that was only black or white. Everything was different shades of gray.

With a new goal that was completely opposite of his previous goal, Baekhyun got up to retreat to his shared room.

  


Turns out to be, Baëkhyun was serious when he said he’d be spending their last days locked in one of the personal rooms. Baëkhyun still hadn’t come out of the room he chose. Baekhyun had decided to routinely keep some water and food in front of the room and knock three times.

It was around the fifth time that Baekhyun decided not to leave after putting the rations and knocking. It was evident as Baëkhyun hadn’t been expecting to see Baekhyun waiting there.

Baëkhyun looked down, not meeting Baekhyun’s eyes. “You didn’t have to do it,” Baëkhyun whispered.

“You needed to eat as well,” Baekhyun reassured while smiling. “Are you happy now-” Baëkhyun started getting defensive again, not wanting to be pitied by the  _ original, _ “Now that I’m basically like your prisoner?”

“NO!” Baekhyun loudly exclaimed, startling Baëkhyun as well. “I just don't want to die like an asshole,” Baekhyun explained while waving his arms around aimlessly, hoping his actions weren’t being misunderstood. 

“Oh,” Baëkhyun raised his eyebrows, “So you’re still being selfish.”

“Please, stop-” Baekhyun pleaded, “If we continue like this then we’ll just be going around in circles.”

Baëkhyun stared at him for a while before picking up rations and going inside the room. He left the door open, Baekhyun took that as a sign of being invited in. Tentatively, Baekhyun stepped into the room. Baëkhyun had randomly chosen Kyungsoo’s room, Baekhyun realized while looking around. He had never been inside as the whole team always respected each other’s privacy. The room felt dull as there were no decorations and accessories around the room. But the room was filled with books, all kinds of them. Baëkhyun probably spent his time in the room reading those books.

Baekhyun sat down on the carpeted floor and looked at Baëkhyun with puppy eyes that had always worked on his teammates. Baëkhyun rolled his eyes at him and he remembered they shared the same face. He blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed but then Baëkhyun sat down in front of him with a small smile.

“That,” Baekhyun pointed at the artificially flavored protein bar in Baëkhyun’s hands, “Is the last of our food.”

Baëkhyun looked down at his hands and looked up to Baekhyun again. “And what about water?” Baëkhyun asked while opening the packet.

“Two bottles left,” Baekhyun held up two fingers while smiling softly.

Baëkhyun sighed softly and broke the bar into two pieces and handed Baekhyun one of them. “So,” Baëkhyun leaned back on his elbows and chewed on his food softly, “What should we do tonight?”

“I want to talk,” Baekhyun stated. When Baëkhyun raised his eyebrows at him, he elaborated. “I want to know the truth,” Baekhyun nodded to himself, “It doesn’t matter if I’m not ready for it.”

Baëkhyun exhaled loudly, nodding his head, and smiled softly at Baekhyun.

  
  


“Let’s finish our last meal.”

“Okay.”

  
  
  
  


*****

  
  
  
  
  


_ The universe was vast and its power source was the tree of life. But even the tree of life had a power source. And that was the red cube. The red cube was pure power with nothing inside, or so what everyone thought. In the beginning, all the beings in the universe lived in harmony. But then war broke out and everyone started to turn their backs on others. That’s when everyone realized that the red cube wasn’t just power as it gave 12 beings pure power from different elements. Their job was to restore the balance in this universe. But some got very jealous and greedy. They had found a way to make this power be passed on to their offsprings.  _

_ That was a whole new era, where the heroes were taken in and got experimented on the mainland, Earth. During the experiment, things went south when the heroes gave up trying to stay heroes and fought back the abuse with all their might. The whole universe got to know about the fight because of the massive explosions and destruction on the mainland. The heroes were born to keep the universe intact but being in captivity, being tortured for god knows how long, and abused over and over again, messed them up. Three of the heroes left and no one else heard of them ever again. One lives solitary by himself on a faraway planet, only showing up in places every once in a while. The eight of them lived in limelight, not caring about helping the ones in need. Their main goal was to destroy anyone consumed with greed and jealousy. That didn’t sit well with the people who were probably on the hit list. So they spread one big nasty rumor. “The children of the red cube are nothing but evil, plain vile”. The whole universe turned their backs on the red cube, inevitably turning their backs on the tree of life. Then one day the heroes stopped trying and darkness consumed the universe. An emperor rose in reign and took over the power of the tree of life, his speeches filled with empty promises. No one thought the universe would light again. And one day, they forgot light even existed.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


******

  
  
  
  


“So,” Baekhyun started with an awkward smile, “Could you please start from the very beginning?”

Baëkhyun smiled softly before taking a deep breath. There would be no going back from this, he knew that. He knew he could trust Baekhyun now but it still went against everything he had ever trained for. But he knew he needed to do this in order to help Baekhyun understand the reality of the situation.

“Okay,” Baëkhyun stared down at his palms, “No more beating around the bush”

“We were raised in a lab,” Baëkhyun coughed once as if he was trying to force the words out, “We were never infants actually, we were made to start our lives as seven years old.”

Baëkhyun looked up from lap to glance at Baekhyun for reassurance before continuing.

“Only the perfect clones were allowed to be trained, others who were deemed not good enough were discarded.”

Baekhyun gasped loudly before feeling guilty for interrupting. Baëkhyun shook his head softly, indicating it was okay.

“They, imperfect clones, were either sent off to inhuman factories to work there or kept around the lab to train them for cleanups and such.”

There was a pause for a few seconds before Baëkhyun started again.

“We were divided into groups of two and we trained with our partner every day. My partner was our healer, you guys probably know him as Yiאing.”

Baëkhyun smiled softly, “My childhood wasn’t bad minus the fact that we were all told we would never be  _ ourselves _ .”

Baëkhyun’s soft smile turned into a sad smile, “ _ We’d always remain clones.” _

Baekhyun frantically shook his head. He couldn’t believe children had to listen to that every day,  _ Baëkhyun  _ had to listen to that every day.

“Listen you’re not-” Baekhyun got cut off by Baëkhyun, “But I am a mere clone, created to destroy the original and then perish. I have no other purpose.”

Baekhyun searched for anger or frustration in Baëkhyun’s eyes but all he could find was longing to be a person, a whole person by themselves.

Baëkhyun started again, avoiding eye contact with Baekhyun after making himself so vulnerable in front of Baekhyun.

“The red cube has been trying to replicate human beings to replicate the powers that had been stolen from it.”

“Stolen?” Baekhyun asked while tilting his head to the side, “Red cube’s powers can be stolen?”

“It wasn’t like its powers were stolen directly from her. It was more like, the gifted children of the red cube were taken away and stripped from their powers by greedy beings.”

Baekhyun nodded his head to indicate he understood, helping Baëkhyun continue.

“They replicated the powers, making them hereditary. But the powers belong to the red cube, to the children of the red cube, the protectors of the tree of life,  _ to us. _ ”

Baëkhyun let out a frustrated sigh while ruffling his hair.

“We just want what’s ours back. The powers are being misused, used for personal goals. We have advanced enough in technology. So why do these greedy people not return the powers back to the rightful owners?”

Baekhyun pursued his lips and held out his hands for Baëkhyun. Baëkhyun smiled softly while grasping Baekhyun’s hand tightly. Baekhyun leaned forward while nodding, “I get that the powers belong to the red cube. The powers are meant to keep the universe safe and that’s what we’re doing. But the children of the red cube, your teams as an example, have been causing chaos and disarray around the universe. Why?”

Baëkhyun waited patiently for Baekhyun to finish talking. He pinched the bridge and closed his eyes to think for a while.

“I think it was one of the earliest lessons we had to learn,” Baëkhyun opened his eyes and maintained eye contact with Baekhyun, “That in this world, being good takes you nowhere. If you want something, want something then simply asking won’t cut it out. You have to march in there and demand.”

Baekhyun nodded while Baëkhyun continued.

“It’s not that we didn’t make any peaceful approaches. But do you remember any incidents like that?”

Baekhyun shook his head. Baëkhyun sighed, “That’s because no one cared when there were no consequences in ignoring the demands. We got impatient, eager to get back what belongs to us.”

Baekhyun scooted closer to Baëkhyun and rested his head on Baëkhyun’s shoulder. Baëkhyun stiffened up at the physical contact at the beginning but relaxed after a second.

“When I was small-” Baekhyun started but got off by Baëkhyun. “What are you talking about? You’re still small.” Baëkhyun smirked while Baekhyun let out an overly dramatic gasp. Baekhyun smacked Baëkhyun’s shoulder and leaned on it again, “Don’t forget you look exactly like me.”

“Anyways,” Baekhyun continued, “I have always wanted to protect. I wanted to bring peace. That’s why I joined the military, to help and serve.”

Baëkhyun raised his eyebrows, “I’m sensing a ‘but’ there.”

Baekhyun smiled a little, “But then I met Sehun.” He chuckled a little, “Such a mature childish person he is.”

Baëkhyun watched as Baekhyun let out a dreamy sigh. “I never understood the appeal of settling down, retiring into a small cozy home, maybe even getting a pet together.” Baekhyun smiled sweetly, “But then I fell head over heels for Sehun.”

“Then why did you hide it?” Baëkhyun mumbled softly.

Baekhyun’s eyes welled up with unshed tears. “This fucking universe,” Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut, “Doesn’t give a fuck about some people.” He stared at Baëkhyun’s eyes, “Why, even after so many years have passed, is being gay looked down upon?”

Baëkhyun’s brows drew together. He pulled Baekhyun close to him and gave him a side hug, patting his head.

“But our relationship is so  _ so  _ beautiful,” Baekhyun’s whole brightened up again, “Sehun is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Baëkhyun pouted at Baekhyun, “Honestly when I found that  _ saucy  _ picture of you and Sehun in your room, I was quite surprised.”

“Ah!” Baekhyun exclaimed and he averted his eyes. His eyebrows rose up and his cheeks were adored with crimson. “Please forget that,” Baekhyun whispered shyly, “That was a one time thing.”

Baëkhyun smirked, “Are you trying to say that you guys like to stay vanilla?”

Baekhyun kept looking around the small room. It seemed like he wanted to avoid Baëkhyun’s question. Baëkhyun cheekily added, “I could teach you a thing or two about sex to make  _ it _ more enticing.”

Baekhyun looked scandalous. “No, thank you,” Baekhyun smiled sarcastically, “I’m perfectly happy with the way things are.”

Baëkhyun completely ignored Baekhyun’s protest and kept talking. “Or!” it was as if there was an imaginary lightbulb that turned on top of Baëkhyun’s head, “I could even join you guys!”

“AH!” Baekhyun screamed at the mental image and tried shoving Baëkhyun away. Baëkhyun giggled childishly while trying his best to keep hugging Baekhyun. “Kidding kidding,” Baëkhyun smiled cheekily, “I’m  _ just  _ kidding!”

“You better be,” Baekhyun pointed a finger at Baëkhyun with an empty threat, “Or else…”

Baëkhyun smiled and ducked his head. He hadn’t had this much fun in a long while and he couldn’t be happier. As Baekhyun got up to get ready for bed, Baëkhyun caught his wrist.

“Let’s cuddle tonight, original _. _ ”

  


  
  
  
*****

  
  
  
  


There was big thud noise before a constant beeping noise filled the whole ship. Baekhyun woke up before Baëkhyun, who was cuddling to him after passing out exhaustion. Reluctantly, Baekhyun got up from the bed after covering Baëkhyun properly with their shared blanket. Baekhyun grabbed his saber and looked through the monitor beside the door showing the outside on its small screen. Baekhyun was left speechless for more than half a minute when he saw some figures walk around in front of the room. He looked behind to find Baëkhyun still sleeping soundly. Baekhyun breathed in loudly before slowly exhaling.

There could only be two possible explanations for this, Baekhyun concluded. One, he was hallucinating. But he has no reason to hallucinate. The second explanation was that the figures outside were from a rogue pirate ship. Baekhyun closed his eyes and tried to even his breathing. He would rather deal with hallucination than deal with space pirates. They’re known to be ruthless, looting any and every ship that comes across them, traffic living beings and selling them as toys for pleasure, or even sometimes selling the captives’ organs.

Taking one last breath to try to steady his heartbeat, Baekhyun opened the room’s door and got out. It seemed that the two figures who were standing outside hadn’t noticed Baekhyun yet. He walked up to them without making a single sound and knocked them both unconscious in one go. He crouched down beside the bodies and looked around their pockets for weapons or food. As he was patting the body’s chest closest to him, he felt an embroidery design on the breast pocket. It was as if someone had poured a bucket full of icy cold water on him and he forgot to even breathe for a second.

It seemed like Baëkhyun had woken up after realizing that Baekhyun wasn’t beside him anymore. Thoroughly confused and sort of frustrated, Baëkhyun walked out of the open door to confront Baekhyun only to find him frozen beside two unconscious bodies.

Baekhyun looked up to meet Baëkhyun’s eyes and uttered two words that made Baëkhyun’s droopy eyes go wide while gasping audibly.

“Space Pirates”

  


Sleepiness from Baëkhyun left immediately as he dashed back into the room to retrieve his saber. As he was stepping out of the room, he saw Baekhyun pulling the bodies inside the room. “What are we going to do?” Baëkhyun asked while helping to pull the bodies inside, “You seem to have a plan.”

Baekhyun nodded while smirking, “I’m getting us out of here.”

After putting the unconscious bodies in a corner of the room, both Baekhyun and Baëkhyun put on the uniform those two were wearing. They used the clothes that they had and a few more from the cupboard to tie the intruders up and gag them properly. 

Baëkhyun picked up the blaster and a small dagger one of the intruders had. “Woah!” Baëkhyun pointed at the blaster with the dagger, “It’s HV 700!”. He then pointed at the dagger with the blaster, “And it’s the dagger that uses gamma rays, it can cut through almost anything!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened, he picked up the blaster and the dagger from the other intruder and inspected them. “Shit!” Baekhyun exclaimed, “They’re so fucking shiny too!”

Baëkhyun was gushing over the shiny new blaster he got when Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows and did a closer examination on the said blaster.

“It’s just not any HV 700,” Baekhyun shook Baëkhyun’s shoulders, “It’s the one emperor’s personal bodyguards use!”

Baëkhyun’s eyes widened comically. “No way!” he shook his head, “How’d you figure it out?”

Baekhyun pointed at the details while Baëkhyun let out a very  _ mature  _ squeal.

Both of them forgot for a while what kind of situation they were in and kept gushing over the new weapons they acquired. But they’re fanboying session was cut short when one of the intruders that they captivated started groaning loudly. Baëkhyun put the blaster in the hostler belt he wore and crouched down beside the groaning person.

“Listen, buddy,” Baëkhyun gave a tight-lipped smile, his voice rough, “Shut the fuck up.”

“Unless you want us to silence you permanently, that is,” Baekhyun looked down upon the intruder while matching Baëkhyun’s smile and tone. The tied up guy shivered in fear while staying mum.

Baekhyun put on the helmet the intruders were wearing and gave the other one to Baëkhyun. He walked out of the room before locking it, Baëkhyun following closely behind. Both of them made their way to the deck only to find a hole cut through one of the walls and a small tunnel leading to the much bigger ship.

Before Baekhyun could step inside the tunnel that led to the other ship, Baëkhyun stopped him with a hand blocking his way.

“If these blasters are meant for protecting the emperor,” Baëkhyun furrowed his eyebrows, “Then why are these with the space pirates?”

Baekhyun looked flabbergasted for a second. It seemed like Baëkhyun didn’t intend to wait for Baekhyun for an answer as he answered the question himself.

“They probably raided a cargo ship containing these, the blasters, meant for the emperor-” Baëkhyun displeased, “They were able to steal from one of the most guarded ships in the universe.”

Baekhyun stood stunned, out of breath. Baëkhyun smiled which didn’t reach his eyes while trying to reassure Baekhyun. He took a step forward and put a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I’m sure whatever you have planned will be successful,” Baëkhyun smirked, “After all you’re my  _ original _ , right?”

Baekhyun let out a hearty laugh, feeling a little lighter than before. But, it still didn’t rest his mind. These pirates were obviously not newbies. They might’ve gotten lucky once, but relying too much on luck would be foolish.

Baekhyun nodded his head at Baëkhyun and started walking through the tunnel. Baëkhyun followed closely behind while keeping an eye out for any attack from behind.

  
  


They were able to find the deck of the ship after a few hours. It wasn’t like it was easy though. The ship was huge and the model was unfamiliar to both Baekhyun and Baëkhyun. After a few dozens of small fights and running away from guards, both of them made it to the deck alive. They both let out a sigh of relief as they entered the deck with weapons in their hand. But the serenity was short-lived. As Baekhyun raised his head, he made eye contact with about five people driving the ship. Sensing Baekhyun tensing up beside him, Baëkhyun understood something was wrong.

“Uh,” Baëkhyun looked around the room while trying to seem awkward so they didn't see him as a big threat. Meanwhile, he kept searching for a new dagger because he left his on one of the guard’s stomach outside.

“What are you doing?” One of the men said who seemed like he was in charge, “Fight them!”

The rest of the four people jumped on both of them. Baekhyun was faster. He jumped out of the way.

Baëkhyun grabbed one of the attackers. He banged his head with his blaster. Rather than discarding the body, Baëkhyun kept it in front of him and tried shooting the guy who seemed like their leader.

Baekhyun punched the guy who tried jumping on him. As that guy took a few steps back, Baekhyun took out his dagger and jumped on the other two. Neither of them was experienced in fighting, that was evident, as Baekhyun handed their asses to them,

Baëkhyun, on the other hand, was also successful in shooting the leader on his leg. The leader fell on the floor with a scream.

Baekhyun ran towards the leader while Baëkhyun fell back and locked the entrance door to the deck.”

“Where are we?” Baekhyun asked as he yanked back the leader’s head. Baëkhyun jogged to where Baekhyun was kneeling on the floor beside the leader.

“I believe he asked you a question.” Baëkhyun smiled coldly, “Answer it or you lose your other leg as well.”

“S-system st-tareng-gia, beside t-the planet H-haevery.” The leader stuttered pathetically, “Why ar-re you work-king with a c-clone?”

“None of your business,” Baekhyun stated calmly while kicking the leader’s face harshly.

Baëkhyun offered his hand which Baekhyun took to stand up. Both of them went up the control panels and started looking around. They both let out a groan of satisfaction when they realized the ship was in perfect working condition. They’re going home.

  


“Destination?”

“Earth.”

  
  
  


The jump to hyperspace went smoothly and the journey back was short. Everything was going too fast for Baekhyun to comprehend properly. He remembered while landing the ship, Baëkhyun was right beside him, trying his best to not crash the ship as well. But when he got out of the ship, he was tackled by his teammates. They were smothering him with affection while smiling so brightly. Baekhyun couldn’t keep smiling when his eyes met Sehun. He broke down into tears while falling on his knees. Sehun rushed forward and scooped him up. They were hugging each other, relieved to be together again.

Baekhyun couldn’t find Baëkhyun anywhere. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Baëkhyun other than Sehun. It seemed like everyone believed Baekhyun was stuck in their spaceship alone, and he took over the pirate’s ship by himself and flew back home. He even got a gold medal for that, a promotion, and pay raise too. Baekhyun didn’t like it, taking all the credits for himself. But Baëkhyun was missing and it was as if he didn’t want to be found.

Finally done with all the commotion, Baekhyun decided to take a vacation with Sehun. They wanted to share some alone time and bask in each other’s presence. But not before coming out to everyone. Sehun looked happy that day, and Baekhyun felt proud.

  


Baekhyun was drinking hot cocoa while sitting on a couch near a window. He had a soft smile adorning his face as he planned what to do on Sehun and his anniversary. The ringtone for the incoming call startled him. Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember if anyone was supposed to call him. While still confused, Baekhyun picked up the earpiece and attached it to his ears.

"Hello? Byun Baek speaking."

"You changed your intro."

Baekhyun gasped as he recognized Baëkhyun's voice. His eyes teared up a little. He really thought he would never be able to talk to Baëkhyun again.

"Hey," Baekhyun's voice cracked a bit in the middle, "Where'd you go-"

Baekhyun stopped himself mid-sentence and coughed. "No," Baekhyun shook his head even though he knew that baëkhyun couldn't see him, "How are you?"

"I'm well," Baëkhyun's voice was heavy, "I just-"

Baëkhyun waited for a second, Baekhyun heard him take loud breaths. "I just wanted to say thank you."

“Why?” tears shimmered in Baekhyun’s eyes, “I couldn’t do anything.”

“But you don’t realize that you did so much,” Baëkhyun’s voice shook, “So much.”

“How could I ever repay you?” Baëkhyun sounded desperate, “I don’t want to be in your debt.”

Baekhyun pretended to think for a second humming. He beamed, “I have a favor to ask.”

“Ask away.”

“Take the name ‘Hyun’?

“Huh?” Baëkhyun sounded confused, “Could you repeat that?”

“Please take the second half of my name.” Baekhyun gripped the phone tighter, “And be your  _ own  _ person.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Baëkhyun softly whispered Baekhyun’s name.

“It’ll be like as if we were twins!” Baekhyun grinned, “Byun Baek and Byun Hyun!”

“Byun Hyun.” Hyun tried out his new name, “Hyun. Byun Hyun.”

Baek’s mouth curved into a smile, “Hyun, please have an amazing life.”

Hyun sniffled on the side, softly muttering a thank you before whispering, “Please take care.”

Baek watched the scenery outside his window after hearing the beeping sound on his phone.

“Did something special happen Baek?” Sehun asked while sitting down beside Baek. Baek gently shook his head and leaned on Sehun’s shoulder. “Nothing.” He softly whispered, “I love you.”

Sehun beamed at Baek, “I love you too.”

  


  


  


  


  


  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading this! Thank you to both mod D and E for organizing the fest. Also, Thank you beta S for helping me fix the grammar errors I keep on making. Hope you enjoyed reading the fic!


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